The Schleck brothers and Cancellara back on Tour together

news03.07.2014Pre-race

Andy Schleck missed the 2012 Tour de France. Last year, his brother Fränk was sidelined and Fabian Cancellara opted for a different race program but the trio that once was the world's super power is reunited in Leeds under the banner of Trek Factory Racing that just announced the arrival of Samsung as a sub-sponsor.

Cancellara's come back to the Tour has a lot to do with stage 5 on the roads of his favorite classic Paris-Roubaix. “Cobblestones on the route of the Tour mean a big opportunity for me”, said the recently crowned Swiss champion for individual time trial. I and we will go on for that. We're always questioned whether it's safe or not to ride on the pavés. For certain people, the race could be over very fast. We can expect more chaos than in Paris-Roubaix because the teams of the GC favorites will also race for positioning. This Tour de France shows that the final result in Paris is not just about climbs and time trials. I've seen Alejandro Valverde riding some of the Spring classics. He was doing quite well. The other favorites, I don't know but it'll be interesting to see how they go on the cobbles. Stage 5 is quite short. It'll go full gas.”Due to his poor results since he had an accident at the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné, Andy Schleck has been assigned a domestique role in the mountains at the service of his brother Fränk and Haimar Zubeldia. “I wasn't always a team leader”, said the Luxembourger. “After I turned pro in 2005, I've been a helper for a long time. I'm here to help Fränk and Haimar but I still have a name and ambitions. I'm curious to see how far I can go. Maybe in some big climbs I'll be with the best climbers. The Tour de France offers plenty of opportunities but I have to be realistic. This is the first step to go back to the level I had before. I believe I'm still a good rider and I hope we still have a long career ahead of us.”Interestingly, Trek Factory Racing lines up the youngest and the oldest riders of the 2014 Tour de France with Danny van Poppel, 20, and Jens Voigt, 43.